Scarlet Dawn
by donamatter
Summary: After hanging up the suit for six months a new threat arises and Barry Allen is brought back into the world as The Flash. This is the story of his return and first ever contact with his future comrades in the Justice League of America.
1. Chapter 1

'There appears to be some kind of lightning coming from the site of the downed Kryptonian ship!'

A young and lanky teenager lay sprawled on a faded leather couch, lathered in a fine dusting of cheese puffs. The buzz of his cellphone against the wooden coffee table brought him out of a deep sleep. He brushed the cheese puffs away and picked up the phone with a disorientated moan.

'Hello?'

'Barry its Iris…'

'Iris where are you!'

'I'm in Metropolis with Wally, have you seen the news?'

Barry suddenly noticed the news, lightning arcing from the research site in the middle of Metropolis. Suddenly worry gripped his heart, the love of his life alone in a city home to a god-like alien. It ran through his mind this could be superman, but the news kept jumping between the story of Metropolis and another concerning superman and batman. A news chopper had caught sight of superman and batman fighting on the roof of the old Ace chemicals building in Gotham's abandoned quarter.

'Are you okay?'

'I'm fine but those people downtown need saving, they need the Flash…'

'I gave that name up for a reason Iris, I gave it up so you and I could have a normal life.'

'My boyfriend is a man who was given super speed by a bolt of lightning … no matter what happens Barry our lives will never be normal, flash or no flash.'

Barry looked at the TV again, the lightning cracking off of buildings shattering their glass fronts and melting the steel supports. Iris was right, his life would never be normal again no matter how much he tried. Perhaps it was time to don the suit again.

'Alright … I'm on my way.'

He hung up and placed the phone on the coffee table in front of him. The basement hadn't been opened in almost three months, the same time it had been since he left the suit down there. He pushed the key into the lock and turned it, the door creaked open to reveal a short set of stairs leading to a dark room. He walked down the stairs and waited the bottom, gazing into the darkness. He flicked a pair of switches at his right upward and lights flickered on to reveal a large square room. Tables baring strange pieces of tech were scattered around the room and at the far right was a crescent shaped desk with a collection of vials and instruments sitting on it.

However the room's main feature was at its furthest end, a rounded computer setup with three screens sat in front of a glass case. The predominantly red suit sat on a mannequin made of perspex. As Barry approached it the case's door retracted into the floor. Barry held his hand against the lightning bolt on the suits chest plate and closed his eyes.

In a blur his normal clothes were flung onto the floor and the armoured suit had been fitted to his body. He adjusted the gauntlets around his forearms, the combat armour made a slight but noticeable weight difference. He pulled his cowl over his head felt the adrenaline surge through his body. Sparks of lightning cracked across his body as he struck a running pose and breathed a calming sigh.

'Be there in a flash…'

He disappeared from the basement in a thunderous clap and within mere seconds was speeding out of the city. With every step he broke a new speed barrier, surpassing Mach 10 by the time he crossed the state line. By the time he was passing through Pennsylvania he was only identifiable by the static he left in the air.

As he entered into Metropolis he slowed down with rush of air and clap of thunder before slowing to a standstill near the research facility looking around at the surrounding buildings. The media suddenly realised he had arrived and turned to him with almost thankful eyes. They encroached on him waving microphones at him and pushing massive cameras in his face.

'Flash, where have you been?'

'Are you here to help?'

Barry huffed and shrugged the reporters off as he thumped into a red and gold streak. Before the reporters' eyes people began massing out of thin air in front of them disorientated and nauseated. Paramedics tended to the wounded survivors and Barry re-appeared with the last one slumping on his shoulders. He passed her off to a paramedic as an older and grizzled policeman walked over to him. He wore a white shirt under a light rain coat with MCPD plastered across the front of it.

'So you're the flash of central city…'

'That's me … you must be the commissioner?'

'Aye, Commissioner Arthur Collins.'

'Any idea what's going on?' asked Barry crossing his arms.

'Haven't got a clue, the last person to go in there was Lex Luthor.'

Despite the Commissioner's heavy Scottish accent he understood the final part of that sentence, Luthor was in there. Despite not knowing Luthor too well he knew that his involvement here wasn't a good sign.

'Commissioner you need to move everyone back as far as you can, I don't know what will come of this but I have a hunch it won't be good.'

'So I'm meant to take orders from a skinny bastard in a red suit?'

'Please Commissioner, I'm only trying to help.'

The commissioner looked into his eyes and saw a flicker of someone who truly cared, right now he was open to any and all suggestions. He turned to a younger Captain and gave him a slow nod.

'Alright, let's get these people outta' here!' yelled the Captain as he rounded his men up and they began evacuating everyone.

'Do what you have to do…'

Suddenly a great crack split the sky and superman emerged from the clouds and smashed through the roof of the research facility. If superman was here something really was wrong.

'What the hell is he doing here?' gasped the Commissioner.

'Same reason I'm here, to protect the people…'


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Note**

 _This chapter will likely be the last for the Flash, but if enough people request it I could do more or even maybe do a full fan re-write of Batman V Superman or parts of it. Thanks for reading and enjoy!_

Luthor grinned as his creation launched from the building after the man of steel. He spun around and grabbed a suit case full of experiment data before marching from the crashed ship. He could feel the accomplishment rising in his gut with every step he took, finally the god many had revered would fall at the hands of his creation. His self-absorbtion was interrupted by the buzzing of his phone, he pulled from his pocket and held it to his ear.

'What?' he snapped.

'We've got a new problem…' warned the young operative.

'What is it?'

'The speedsters here…'

'Deal with it, have the chopper pick me up on the pad.'

He ended the call and pushed the phone back into his hip pocket as he entered the decontamination chamber. Pressurized air rushed into the chamber, with a loud hiss. He waited, impatiently tapping his foot against the grated floor and throwing his head around looking for something interesting. The thirty seconds felt like hours but as the doors opened time resumed and he continued down the sterile white hallway. The hall terminated through a sliding metal door onto a wide rectangular landing just above a large set of stairs. Luthor turned to his left and exited through an emergency exit. As he stepped out under a glass alcove the frigid air bit at his uncovered neck.

The rain pelted down and lightning flashed across the dark clouds in the sky shadowed by thunder that split the sky. From seemingly nowhere a trail of gold lightning engulfed the air on the helipad and at its front stood an ominous crimson figure with a gold lightning bolt diagonally emblazoned at the center of his chest. Luthor felt the rush of air hit him at the same time awe rushed over him. He'd seen footage of him but had never met the man behind the legend.

'I was beginning to think you'd given up the superhero game,' smirked Luthor.

'Needed a quick siesta, kicking ass is a little tiring.'

The tall masculine man seemed to brooding and tough for the young and spry voice that came from it. But beneath the body armour and super speed was just a young forensic scientist using the gift he was given to help others. Luthor admired his work but he was naïve and narrow sighted, as most heroes were. The Lexcorp helicopter banked around a nearby building and began its descent to the helipad.

'You're not getting on that chopper!'

'Oh but I think I am.'

From seemingly out of nowhere a team of special ops crept from the shadows on a second inlet bridge onto the helipad. A barrage of bullets quickly unloaded across the pad as the chopper touched down and a soldier jumped out attempting to tackle the crimson comet. The once still standing man now a blur of gold and scarlet. Luthor rushed through the rain and clambered into the chopper across from a jittery soldier. The soldier slammed his fist against the wall and the pilot pulled the chopper off the pad and back into the air.

Luthor looked down to see the soldiers being flung all over the pad by the speed punches and round house kicks of the speedster. The soldier breathed a sigh of relief as they began to round the top of a sky scraper and the helipad left view.

'What was that?' questioned the soldier.

'That my good friend was … the flash.'

Lightning struck across the roof of the building as the flash crested the edge and in what seemed like a second leaped into the helicopter and snatched Luthor. They tumbled out and onto the roof of another building. Luthor rolled several times before stopping on his stomach with a groan. The flash rolled once before standing and skidding to a halt. The white jacket he wore had been dirtied and ripped by the fall, it fell off him with a shrug leaving him standing in the rain with nothing more than a short sleeve t shirt and thin cotton pants. The cold numbing his skin and the water soaking his clothes, humiliation began to creep into his mind.

The gleam of a sniper scope drew the flash's attention as the chopper came back around and the soldier aimed down his rifles scope. As he opened fire the flash seemed to blur as the speedster dodged the projectiles. Luthor took the opportunity by the horns and sprinted for a nearby stairwell entrance. He descended the stairs with haste before bursting through another door into a foyer of sorts. An elevator arrived and as its passengers stepped off he got in. The two young women looked at him with shock, he couldn't tell whether it was the state he was in or the fact it was simply him. 'Ladies,' he smirked.

He pushed the button for the ground floor and moments later the doors closed. As the cube like elevator descended he pulled out his phone and dialled Kynazev. With every ring his heart sunk further and further into his chest. The call rang out and he hung up with a furious growl. The doors opened again at the ground floor to reveal once more the crimson and gold flash.

'Seriously an elevator? I had to stop for big belly burger while I waited.'

'What have I ever done to you?' asked Luthor in a desperate attempt for mercy.

'Judging by the files you had in that briefcase you made that thing Superman's fighting, I can't say I'm very thankful for that. Not to mention the spying on me you did and giving heat wave and Captain Cold their weapons…'

He grabbed Luthor by the collar and pulled him from the elevator and dragged him through the reception area. He nestled Luthor under his arm and within moments they were standing in the rain again in front of Commissioner Collins.

'Bloody hell, you'd scare a man half to death lik'that.'

'One bat shit crazy sociopath, just as you ordered,' he smiled pushing Luthor toward the commissioner.

He turned away as if getting ready to take off. The Commissioner cuffed the disturbingly silent Luthor and handed him off to one of his corporals.

'What are you going to do now?'

'I gotta go kill a monster, y'know real superhero stuff.'


End file.
